Persuasion
by Uxiegirl
Summary: Jasper always felt uncomfortable with stares... I want to keep the rest a surprise for you. ;D
1. Stares

**I have a really good surprise for all of you. This is a story about my favorite Twilight character, Jasper. Who is, if you didn't know already, NOT emo.**

Forks was dark and cloudy, like always. There were the familiar signs of rain all around us as my siblings and I headed into the school, Alice beside me with a smile and a skip in her step, and Emmett and Rosalie several feet ahead, Emmett's arm around Rosalie. If I knew Emmett, and I did, he probably had one of his huge egoistic grins on his face, and if I knew Rosalie, which, unfortunately, I did, she was probably looking around at every person that was around us like she wanted to kill them.

Rosalie, while blonde, wasn't stupid. She knew that possibly every girl in the school envied her, wished they were going out with Emmett. She also knew that possibly every boy in the school envied Emmett.

Alice and I didn't have the same problem, not exactly. Everyone stared at us, just like they stared at Rosalie and Emmett, but they stared at Alice like she was insane, and they stared at me like I was…I don't know. It was a mixture of disgust, bewilderment, sympathy, and fear.

Why shouldn't they be afraid of me? I thought to myself. I was a monster after all. Just because Edward was the only one with a human girlfriend…

Edward brought all of the drama in the family these days. Before him, it was me and Alice, the intruders who barged in without any kind of invitation. That was never a nice thing to have; people staring at you like you're anything but welcome. Especially Rosalie. I hated Rosalie. Everyone hated Rosalie. Except Emmett, of course, who thought she was about the greatest prize in the world.

Attention had never been my expertise, not since I'd been turned. Before then I remember I was extremely charismatic. Some of that had rubbed off on me when I turned, giving me the ability to control anyone's emotions.

Anyway, Edward wasn't with us that day, just like every other day. He was with Bella Swan, someone I couldn't be around very much, simply because her blood was twice as irresistible as, say, that girl over there staring at me squarely like I was some kind of zombie or something.

Oh, right.

I tried to ignore everyone, especially the girl who had no fear when it came to glaring at me. Still, I couldn't resist returning her gaze, a kind of warning I gave to people to just mind their own business and stay away from me.

The girl didn't turn away, like other girls did. She didn't flinch at my face, which I knew was scrunched in concentration so I wouldn't kill everyone in the school. She didn't gasp at my eyes, which varied from golden to black depending on how thirsty I was. Her own eyes didn't bug when she saw how pale my skin was, how it was nearly white. No, it _was_ white. And it was ice cold, too.

She had straight, black hair that went down the length of her back. Her eyes were piercing and gray. They were the most peculiar of eyes, with the sort of feel that they weren't really there.

The ironic thing was, even though she didn't gape or gasp or flinch, I almost did. Right then I was grateful that Edward wasn't there. He would've been the only one to sense my astonishment.

But then I looked ahead again, Alice by my side, Emmett and Rosalie up ahead, and we entered the school just like any normal day, the girl already gone from my mind.

**Be sure to review, whether you like Jazzy or Emmett or Rosalie (Rosalie? Everyone hates Rosalie!) or Alice or Edward. Or Jacob or any of the Quilet tribe. Or any of the other Cullens I haven't mentioned yet.**

**And review even if you don't like any of them.**


	2. Lunch Tables

**For some reason I always get more reviewers in a Twilight fanfic. I'm going to see what I can do to make this as good as I can, so updates might be less often than I usually give them. But then again, once I put up eight chapters in one day…**

Alice and Edward sat with Bella at lunch every single day, leaving me alone with Rosalie and Emmett. I didn't think they were traitors because of it exactly, but I was anything but happy about sitting with Ms. Paris Hilton and her pet bear.

As we ate, Emmett _still_ had his arm around Rosalie, and he still had a ridiculous grin on his face. Sometimes I wondered if he was capable of a straight face. Probably not.

Emmett, being Emmett, ignored Rosalie's glances now and then at Edward and Alice and especially Bella. She _did_ think they were traitors. I could see it in her eyes.

There was an unusually still atmosphere around us. Sure, people were still chattering like only teenagers in a cafeteria could, but the focus was on the table where my brother, Bella, and Alice sat. As usual. How strange it was, they always said. What did Edward see in her? Why did Bella choose sitting with them over us? Oh, my one chance of being popular! And then, of course, there was what the boys thought…

They all made me sick.

All of a sudden she came up to us, that girl with straight black hair and almost see-through eyes. "Hi," she said in a light voice that reminded me of Alice. I struggled not to look at her, not to have the impulse to kill her.

Rosalie looked at her like she was Royce. _After_ he killed her. Or, he almost did. Emmett looked at her blankly, and, as I've said, I didn't look at her at all.

"I'm Evadne," the girl went on quietly. "I want to talk to you guys. I'm from the paper."

"I see the school's finally declared me the most handsome guy in school," Emmett said with a grin.

"You're Emmett," the girl said, returning his grin. Then she looked at the blonde know-it-all next to him. "And you're Rosalie," she said. "I like your hair."

"Do you?" Rosalie looked at her skeptically.

"How did you get it like that?" Evadne asked eagerly.

"It comes naturally that way," Rosalie said with a grin. Of course she liked Evadne now, even if she was human.

"Really?" Evadne said, her eyes bugging out in surprise. "Wow. So can I ask you some questions? A lot of people are curious."

"Sure," Emmett said, still grinning that cocky grin of his–did he ever stop smiling?

Great," Evadne said, echoing his grin and sliding right next to me. Gulp.

I leaned away from her, not wanting to risk the cafeteria witnessing a murder. I stared at her, eyes wide in shock, as she ignored me and began asking questions.

Basically Evadne's news article was about where we came from and why we were here. Apparently, everyone had been wondering all this since we'd gotten here. Emmett and Rose were very vague, and I didn't say anything at all, but still Evadne questioned us.

"Where did you guys come from?" she asked us like we were on a quiz show. Why did you decide to come to Forks? After your short time here, are you finally settling in? What's it like sharing a house with each other? Do we have more than one bathroom? And all those questions I was sure people really _were_ wondering.

Evadne tried her best not to make the questions sound offensive in any way, but after a time she ran out of the simple things, and, after warming us up to her, I suppose, she began to pry a little bit.

"Rosalie," she said to the snotty blonde. "Why do you hate Bella Swan so much?"

"I'm worried about Edward," Rosalie had lied. "I don't want him to get hurt."

"Emmett, do you think you're laughing about everything to cover up the pain of loosing your parents?"

"Er…" Emmett stared at Evadne for a moment before saying simply, "No…"

"Jasper," she leaned in close to my face and I flinched at her delicious human scent. "Where did you get those scars from?"

"Car crash," I said quickly, trying to get Evadne away from me as fast as possible. "That's how my parents died."

Evadne looked at me sympathetically. "I'm so sorry," she said. I cursed mentally.

"S' okay," I muttered.

Finally Evadne left, her black hair flouncing behind her as she skipped away with a grin on her face. I sighed with relief and took a deep breath of fresh air, not even minding the rest of the human scents, for they were no contest to what I had just endured.

**Okay, then. Here you go. I hope that's kind of…good. I don't know anything for sure unless you tell me, so TELL ME!!!**

**Please?**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. Number and Address

**Okay, people. Let's get on with the show!!!**

As the longest day of my life drew to a close, I began to wonder why it was that Evadne took me so strongly. She was peculiar, I'd give her that. She was straight-forward, yet polite. Her eyes were the strangest I'd ever seen.

The day went on as usual. Edward and Bella getting stares, luckily taking away attention from me. But that wouldn't last long, not if Evadne got the article everyone was waiting for out at last. Then they would turn towards the three of us once more, and they would stare at the scars on my face in contrast to my adoptive brother and sisters' beauty.

I knew I was beautiful, too. I was a vampire, after all. I knew that I was every bit as beautiful as Alice and Edward and Emmett, maybe even Rosalie. But that didn't matter. It took more than a pretty face to get attention these days.

It took drama.

Rosalie and Emmett didn't get as much attention as they used to, I knew. Edward and Bella had put a stop to that like they had everything else. But they still were part of the gossip, as Rosalie had hated Bella's guts at first sight, and Emmett was her loyal sidekick.

Who was I in all this pointless drama? I was the creepy guy who stood behind them that ought to have a hook on his hand and a patch over his eye. I was the guy that kept the werewolves calm. I was the guy that couldn't control himself.

Wonderful.

"Oh!" Evadne let out a cry as she tripped and fell in the hallway, her papers flying everywhere. I looked at Rosalie and Emmett; they were gone. Everyone was gone. How was that possible?

I groaned inwardly. Of course I would end up alone in the hallway with Evadne. How could I expect any different?

So, deciding to face my fear, I went over to the innocent girl and helped her gather her papers. "Oh, Jasper," she said, giving me a little smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," I said. It didn't burn as much as before; I could speak a little now. "What are all these?"

"They're…um…" Evadne turned a bright shade of pink with embarrassment. "They're drawings."

"Drawings?" I took a look at one. It was of a deer, lying dead on the ground. But there was no animal about it that would explain the cause of its death. Instead there was just a boy, his back to us though we could see the side of his face. His mouth was stretched back, revealing a pair of fangs. His mouth was covered with red.

"Of vampires," she explained. "I've been trying to get them just right…"

"These are…" I gasped. Each detail was perfection, the colors blended together. It looked like an actual picture, a picture I knew I had experienced many times before in real life. "These are amazing," I said to Evadne. "Where did you learn to draw like this?"

"Years and years of practice," she said with a little smile. "Thanks again, Jasper. Maybe you could…come by my house sometime."

"Oh, I couldn't…"

"Look," Evadne said, looking at me with those transparent eyes. "Don't worry that pretty head of yours about it, okay? Here's my address and phone number…" she scribbled a few numbers on the back of one of her drawings. "And I'll let you think about it, okay? It would just be as friends, of course. I wouldn't want things to be awkward with Alice."

"Um…yeah. Thanks," I took the piece of paper with Evadne's number and address on it and looked at it in awe. "I'll think about it."

And I knew I would.

I would think about it way too much.

**Okay, I'm on a major role here. Not only did I start a new fic today, but I put up another chapter of this! I assure you, this has the most surprising ending you'll ever see.**

**Maybe.**


	4. I Can

**And I'm thinking of what Sarah said…**

**That "Love is watching someone die…"**

**I was just listening to that and I thought, hey, what the heck? Might as well put it in.**

**So who's gonna watch you die?**

"Jasper, I'm so sorry," Alice said to me after school that day for the billionth time. "I had no idea. If I had known, you know I would've taken you away from there today."

"Of course you would have," I said. "I don't question that at all, Alice. And it's okay – everyone's alive."

"But what if they weren't?" my sweetheart asked worriedly. "What if you slipped? It would be all my fault."

"No, Alice, it would have been my fault. I would have been the one to slip; I would have been the one to kill her. I would be responsible. Not you." It really peeved me that my family thought I couldn't handle myself, and though I hardly could at times, I wasn't a newborn. I wasn't out of control completely. It was just harder for me; that's all.

"But if I just could have seen it coming –"

"But you didn't," I interrupted her before she could blame herself more. "It was a chance decision. There's nothing any of us could do."

"I just feel so guilty," Alice said sadly.

"Don't," I whispered softly as I kissed her tenderly on her lips. It wasn't long before Alice and I were making out fiercely, joined together as one.

Emmett, being Emmett, happily took on the task of keeping track of everyone's sex life. So far, nobody had beaten his and Rosalie's record, and Emmett loved to boast. But I'd never been a competition kind of guy, and so I was just glad to have Alice in my arms.

Emmett cleared his throat loudly from behind us. We broke away quickly, and I spun around to face him irritably. "Not to interrupt you lovey-doveys, but don't you think you guys can wait until we get home?" he asked like only Emmett could. "I mean, I know you've waited so long already, but…"

I scowled. "We can't all be as big as King Kong, Emmett," I said snippily, took Alice's hand, and together we began to run at full speed back to the house to finish what we started.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"She invited me to her house," I said quietly to Alice as dawn began to approach.

"Who?"

Vampires tended to get easily distracted, and it had taken all afternoon and night to remember. It had been so nice spending time with Alice. But I did have things to deal with, important things.

"Evadne," I told my beautiful girl. "She invited me to her house and told me to think about it."

"But you can't do that!" Alice gasped worriedly. "What if you –"

"Kill her?" I finished for her. "Now, Alice. Why would I do that?" My attempt at humor was weak, and Alice was too worried to smile. "I want to go," I said seriously instead. "If I can learn control…"

I didn't finish the sentence. I didn't have to. If I could learn control, I wouldn't be known as the creepy guy anymore. I could be normal, or as normal as a vampire could be. I wouldn't be accused as emo, called Captain Hook behind my back (according to Edward), and best of all, my family wouldn't have to worry about me so much.

"It's risky," Alice said quietly.

"I know," I sighed. "But I can handle it. I promise. You'd be able to tell if I couldn't, right?"

"I don't see anything," she admitted. "I guess it's because you haven't decided whether to kill her yet, or Evadne hasn't decided what to do with you while you're over at her house…"

"Don't worry, Alice," I reassured her. "I'll be fine. Just fine."

I knew Alice deeply doubted that, as did I, but she shut her mouth and continued to kiss me, as if that would change my mind.

**It is rated T, you know. Besides, that's what vampires are known for. Or at least, the Cullen vampires…**

**If you don't like it, imagine something else.**

**By the way, the song I was talking about before was called What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie.**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!**


	5. Front Page

**Okay, here we go. Roll the clip!**

"Um…Evadne," I'd spent the rest of the morning with Alice and hadn't had time to worry about talking to Evadne yet, and now that I was up to her, I was doing my worrying double-time.

Evadne turned and smiled at me. Her arms were free of her drawings today; instead they held newspapers, and she looked at me as if she knew exactly what I was about to say.

"Hello, Jasper," she said sweetly.

"Uh…hi," I'd never been very good at greetings. "I've thought about your…invitation, and I've decided to accept."

Evadne gave me an Emmett-size grin. "That's great!" she said excitedly. "I'd give you a hug, but…" she gestured to the newspapers in her arms with her head. Thank goodness for newspapers, I thought to myself. "Here," she said. "Take one. Your article made the front page!"

The front page? That could not be good.

It wasn't. Already people were snatching the newspapers out of Evadne's arms and putting a quarter in a jar next to her. Evadne had to keep grabbing a new stack of the papers to put in her arms, and each was gone in a matter of minutes. I stared at Evadne in horror. "The front page?"

Evadne nodded, ignoring my dismay. "You're a big hit," she said, and handed me the last newspaper copy in her arms before turning around and gathering up another pile of them.

I took a look at the article title. "All About the Cullens," it read. I groaned inwardly. The picture for the article was of the three of us – Rosalie, Emmett, and I – though I did not remember taking it. It was only when I saw Evadne's signature in the corner did I realize that she had drawn it. While it was very artistic and pretty much perfect, it did make me impressed.

_The Cullen family, including Emmett (18), Rosalie (18), Jasper (17), Alice (17), and Edward (17) has always been a mystery to the school. But what's it like inside their heads?_

I didn't even need to read more than that. The front page…

"Evadne," I gasped, speechless. "The front page…we don't want any publicity!" Heck, we didn't even want our names in any records, let alone the front page of the school newspaper. "I thought it was going to be a small article!"

Evadne looked at me oddly. "But the school has been waiting years for this," she said, sounding hurt. "It's…sensational. I thought you'd like it."

"I…I..." I was astounded. I shook my head. "I guess I'm fine with it. But I'm not the problem. You're going to hear from Edward, maybe Alice, and definitely a pissed Rosalie."

Evadne looked at me with wide, gray eyes. "I had no idea this would offend you…" she said, surprised. "We could do a recall…" I shook my head.

"No, no," I sighed. "The school's probably going to earn a hundred dollars off this one newspaper. I couldn't take that away from it." Evadne gave a little smile, but I was serious. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in town had a copy of the newspaper by tomorrow. Maybe even the Quileute wolves would have a copy. They would snicker and laugh at the newsprint, pointing out how completely fake it all was, gawking at all our answers. And Evadne could be famous.

Or at least as famous as you could be in Forks.

So I looked at Evadne, at how innocent she was, and I thought about how she didn't deserve to get the scolding from my adoptive brother and sister. I looked at her and gave a sigh. "So I'll come over on Friday, then?"

**Okay, so I've been seriously slacking, when you look at the length of this chapter and how long it took me to write it.**

**But I'm a little busy. I've got a brilliant story that I'm writing, and it doesn't apply to fanfiction. And I've got to strike while the iron is hot, if you know what I mean. So chapters will come up a little less often, as you really must give me time to compromise.**

**Only I can juggle four fanfiction stories and still write what must be the best story I've ever had.**

**Nah, I must have come up with **_**something**_** better. But this is the best written.**

**And has anyone seen my cousin around? AKA, the girl that's related to me and hasn't reviewed or talked to me since my sister's birthday? And about a week before my sister's birthday, too? You know, that cousin.**

**Whatever. Just review!!!!!**


	6. Change Back

**Sorry about the wait, guys. Or at least what I would call a wait. To you, it would be a treat.**

**Anyway, I've got an excuse. My computer crashed and when I got it back, it didn't have internet! But I'm here now, and my dad hooked up the internet quicker than he usual – last time I had to wait until I got grounded for them to reward it as a treat.**

**Speaking of treats, I'm hungry. Kidding, kidding. Here you go.**

I detached myself from Alice's arm and worried look after school and met Evadne in the parking lot.

"Jasper," I spun around and saw the 'good' brother looking at me fearfully. "You don't have to do this."

I sighed and turned back around. "Yeah," I said. "Thanks, Edward. You can tell Alice that I've got this."

"It's not just Alice that worried about you, Jasper," Edward pointed out, making me hesitate. "The whole family is very concerned. You can't do what I did with Bella."

"But isn't that the problem?" I said, turning back to face my brother. "Isn't all the concern what's holding me back? No doubt the Quileute wolves are going into evasive maneuvers."

"That's their job, Jasper," he said in a low voice, meaning that I'd struck the source of why he'd come. "You're a danger to this girl."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, give me a break, Edward!" I shouted a bit too loud; Evadne's head snapped toward me. "I have as much control as every other one of you! It's not like I'm a newborn or anything!"

Edward gestured for me to quiet down. "Edward," I said calmly. "Read my lips and my thoughts, okay? I can handle this!"

Edward sighed. "Okay, Jasper," he said finally. "I trust you. You're my best friend. You know that."

I grinned. "So I pass up even Carlisle?" I said hopefully.

Edward grinned, too. "We'll see," he said. He turned around and walked away as slow as he could make himself go with Evadne still watching.

"Jasper," Evadne's innocent voice came from behind me. I turned slowly and saw her standing there, her long, jet black hair holding a black clip that looked nearly invisible. Her big, gray eyes were open wide in concern, and her pale face stared up at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said. "Edward can be a little overprotective sometimes."

"I hope it wasn't about me," she said, and it made me feel bad that it was. "I'd never want to cause a conflict with your family…"

"Oh, no," I lied. "It's not you. We keep to ourselves; that's all, and Edward's a little resistant to change."

"That's funny," Evadne said as we began walking to her car. "How come it's okay for him to date Bella, then?"

Good point. "He's a hypocrite," I muttered.

Evadne shrugged. "A lot of people are. You're the youngest, right?" That depended on whether you meant birthdays or vampire-wise. Edward was both the youngest and the oldest, besides Carlisle. It was kind of ironic. But since it didn't matter when our birthdays were, I said,

"Yeah."

"Older siblings tend to get overprotective," Evadne explained. "I know it's not the same for you, because you're not related, but maybe Edward thinks he has the right to boss you around."

"He doesn't," I pointed out.

"They never do," Evadne said logically as we reached a beat-up silver car. "And they will never learn. But, hey, if they want to think they're superior, fine. Let their ego get in the way of success."

The talk didn't really make me feel better, but I supposed that it helped.

The ride to Evadne's house was quiet. Neither of us spoke, and we didn't touch the radio dial. I could have sworn I heard crickets – though with my ears that didn't really mean much.

Finally Evadne sighed and looked at me, even though she was driving, which innerved me a little, and said with a sigh, "Do you want to listen to some music?"

"Eyes on the road," I warned her. Evadne rolled her eyes, looked back at the road, and pressed a button with a triangle on it. Sweet music, soft and serene, floated through the car. The singer began, with a voice you'd find anywhere on the street, yet it was different.

"_You may tire of me as our December sun is setting,  
'Cause I'm not who I used to be…"_

"What is this?" I had to ask. Evadne blushed.

"Sorry," she said. "It's Death Cab for Cutie. I guess they've been in a couple places, but nobody really knows them." She smiled a little. "I guess that's why I like them."

"_But now he lives inside  
someone he does not recognize  
when he catches his reflection on  
accident…"_

"Oh," was all I could say as the piano and drums floated gently around us.

Again we were silent, listening to the song. It was simple; the notes of the piano held often and would have a lot of silence in between if the drums were not there to guide them. The lyrics were unlike other music I'd heard from this century; they sounded well thought through, with several words a human would not normally know, and there was no chorus to be heard. By the end, Evadne had an odd look to her eye, and I wondered if she should be driving.

"_You may tire of me as our December sun is setting,_

'_Cause I'm not who I used to be…"_

An atmospheric sound lingered behind the song as the last notes were striked, and it left the car twice as silent as before when it had faded.

"Um…wow," was all I could really say.

Evadne gave a wry smile. "They are one of a kind," she said. "You could spend years trying to figure them out, trying to figure out how Ben got the inspiration for all this…" she shook her head. "You'll never get anywhere, though."

It was then that we arrived at Evadne's house – a two-story residence with overgrown plants and a need for dusting – and got out of her car.

"Sorry," she said with an apologetic smile. "The place is kind of a mess." But she gave no explanation as to why it was a mess, nor did I ask. "Wipe your feet," she ordered as we entered the house, as if it would change anything if I did. I wiped my feet anyway and followed her inside.

"Come on," she said, gesturing with her arm. "Let's go upstairs."

"Where're your parents?" I asked cautiously as I followed her.

"Oh, they're…out," Evadne said vaguely. "They won't be back for a while." I wondered what she meant by that, but I didn't ask.

Her room was, honestly, dull. Her walls were flat out peach; her twin-sized bed was in the corner by the closet. There was a table – not quite a desk – in another corner, and it held an old-fashioned computer. Or, at least, old fashioned to humans.

"Yeah, I know it's not much," Evadne said as we entered. "But I get by. There's just so much to do these days, I don't really notice what's in my room anymore. Unless," she stole a look at me – her eyes were dark and mischievous. "I open my secret compartment. Wanna see?"

I nodded, though I'm sure my eagerness didn't show on my face.

Evadne knelt down and removed a floorboard. She then dug inside and pulled out a flat, piece of cardboard, designed to look like the floor beneath the floorboards, so that, should anyone discover her hiding place, they would not suspect there was more even farther beneath.

"Pretty cool, eh?" she asked, her gray eyes filled with excitement. I nodded, truly fascinated. Back when I was a human, nobody I knew kept things under the floorboards; now I suppose it was more popular, but it still fascinated me all the same.

"Lookit here," she said, a slight accent – Irish? Scottish? – filled her voice with a sudden burst. She pulled out a folder, one of many, I knew. It was black and marked with a white crayon, 'Vampires'.

This stunned me a little. Vampires? Did she know my secret? Was she luring me here to get rid of me somehow? What _was_ she? At that moment, I wished I was Edward so that I would know.

"I've been drawing these since I was very young," she said, catching my expression.

Oh.

"Really?" I risked it, inching closer to see.

"I-I like to take people I know," she said, "And turn them into vampires. It's…interesting to change people around, don't you think?"

I nodded. "Very interesting," I murmured.

"Um…this is me," she said, getting nervous as she revealed a perfectly drawn picture of herself – but stranger. Her soft, gray eyes were hard and red. Her long, black hair was flying everywhere. Her usual soft expression was transformed into something darker, something I knew all too well. It was Edward's face before he met Bella. It was Rosalie's face as she stared off into the night, still thinking of Royce. It was Emmett's face as he thought to himself every once in a while about what his life could have been before he was changed. It was Esme's face as she recalled her dead child, the child she had nearly killed herself for. It was Carlisle's face as he questioned whether what he does is right. It was Alice's face whenever she meets the Vulturi. It was my face.

My breath caught in my throat. Seeing my reaction, Evadne quickly moved on. "This is Edward," she said. She showed me a picture that I was sure had been just like the real thing a century ago when Edward was changed, besides the clothes he wore.

"This is Rosalie," a perfect portrait of Rosalie was put in my line of vision. Her eyes were red, and on her face was a feral expression as she hunted down her next pray. She must have looked like this when she got revenge on Royce all those years ago, I thought to myself.

"This is Emmett." Emmett, with his jokester expression finally absent, replaced with a look that was almost…scary. He was big, and he was going to kill you.

"Here's Alice," Evadne said, nervously placing a picture of my love in front of me. "This one was kind of hard," she admitted. "Alice is so sweet."

Again, my breath caught in my throat. Alice's face was zoomed in, so for once we couldn't see what she was wearing. Her beautiful pixie-like face was no longer kind and caring. Her jaw was set, and her lips opened in a snarl. Her gorgeous gold eyes were jet black, except for a glimmer of blood-red. She looked like she wanted to absolutely destroy me.

And I was scared.

Evadne quickly removed the Alice picture, knowing it would upset me, and she replaced it with another zoom-in face picture. But this one was of me.

This one just merely saddened me. I saw this face in the mirror every morning as Alice put me in clothes she had picked out herself – you couldn't get away with something like that with Alice – and it didn't surprise me to see me looking so feral, like my adoptive siblings.

Evadne had decided to make me slightly different, though. My hair, instead of sticking straight up as if I'd been bolted by lightning, was flat, draping over one of my eyes. My expression was guarded, but not killer like my siblings'. There was a glint of red in the eye that was revealed, but my brow was arched to make it seem like it was not from my eye, but from someone else's. My mouth was open, but it wasn't a snarl like Alice's. It was shocked, scared even. What of, I had no idea.

Obviously nervous about my opinions of her drawings, Evadne flipped to the next drawing, but leaving the one of me close to her so that I could still steal glances as she showed me Bella – who was uncharacteristically fierce, though I was not scared of her – Mike, who I had to laugh at, Ethan, Angela, Jessica, Lauren, and Jacob Black.

"When did you see Jacob?" I asked her, taking the drawing gently in my hands. It was interesting, seeing Jacob as a vampire. His tan skin had a lighter tint to it, and his expression was exactly the same as it had been since he'd become a werewolf. Guarded. Yet it was different than my expression – he looked as if he could actually protect himself if he wanted to.

"When you guys went away, I kept my eye on Bella," Evadne said quietly. "Everyone did, in their own way. But I saw Jacob when he came to the school, and…I never really forgot him. He's trapped in my mind, now."

"Yeah," I muttered. "He has a way of doing that."

"Well, do you…do you like them?" Evadne asked quietly. "I know a lot of people wouldn't like seeing their friends like that."

I'll say, I thought to myself. No, uh…" my voice sounded funny, so I cleared my throat. "No. They're good. Really good. Where did you learn to do these?"

Evadne didn't reply for a moment. She was quiet; let the silence hover in the air. Then she gently pried the drawing of Edward's rival from my hands and placed it tenderly back into the black folder marked 'Vampires,' the others slowly following behind it. She left the one of me for last, and held it in her hands for a moment.

"You can keep it, if you want," she said quietly, holding the drawing out to me. I just stared at it. "Please," she said again. "Take it. Everybody needs to be reminded of their…dark side, once in a while." She sounded as if she were parting with an old friend.

"Yeah?" my voice sounded funny again, but this time I didn't care. Instead I just took the drawing, ever so gently, and held it in my hands, staring at it fixedly.

Evadne gave a little smile, though I hardly saw it. "Take care of it," she advised. "Who knows? Maybe one day…the vision will come true, and you'll look at it and think to yourself…" she trailed off, and then added quietly, "that you need to change back."

**So there you go. Since I've spent so long writing this, I figured, "Hey, might as well give you all a treat." So there you go.**

**Gosh, I've been mentioning treats a lot, haven't I?**

**This chapter is dedicated to two people I've been thinking a lot about lately: my cousin, who has, probably, forgiven me for being a big…well, you get the point. And a certain someone who has, in fact, changed over the past two weeks, though he denies it.**

**Ah, yes, if only he had something to convince him to change back. I'd probably go out and scream my thanks. Yet…it seems unlikely to me.**

**The song, by the way, is called Brothers on a Hotel Bed by Death Cab for Cutie, and though I know I probably shouldn't have put it on, I couldn't resist it. ;p**

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	7. A Meeting with Sam

**Here we go.**

**I say that a lot, don't I?**

**Anyway…well, here we go!**

"Jasper!" Alice gasped when I came back, running up at vampire-speed and throwing her arms around my neck. She was so short that she didn't reach my lips, and so she jumped with her vampire-legs. I held her there, and we squeezed each other for a while.

When we finally let go, Alice said, her golden eyes sparkling with happiness, "You made it! She's alive!"

"How do you know?" I asked teasingly, a grin spreading across my face."

Alice hit me in the chest. "Don't joke about things like that," she said. "Now, come on. Let's celebrate!"

She pulled me to the living room.

My adoptive family was sitting in a half circle. Edward was sitting next to Bella, his face twisted with worry. Carlisle was reading another encyclopedia, as if he hadn't already memorized every single page over the centuries. Esme was reading over his shoulders from behind the couch. Rosalie and Emmett were looking at each other with lust, trying to stay polite enough to be present and not rush to throw off their clothes.

Each one of their faces looked up at Alice and I as we entered; five pairs of golden eyes scanned us with relief, and a worried pair of brown eyes joined them.

"Don't worry, Bella," I said with a half-smile. "I didn't kill her." Bella looked around, realizing that no one else was worried. She wasn't able to tell by my eyes like everyone else could; either that or she wasn't as fast. But now she took a breath of relief.

"That's great, Jasper!" she said enthusiastically. I smiled her. She amused more than just Edward, contrary to popular belief.

"Yes," a rough voice said from behind the couch as Sam Ulley rose. "That is certainly good news." I could feel my jaw harden.

"Sam," I said, my voice sounding different. "It sure is nice to see you. How's the pack?"

Sam shrugged. "We're getting along okay," he said. "But I think there are more serious matters to discuss than that?"

I shot a look at Edward, then at Bella, then back at Edward; my gaze went to Carlisle and Esme, back to Edward, and finally settled on the pack leader. "What's to discuss?" I said coldly.

"Don't play dumb, Jasper; this is serious," Sam said, suddenly looking weary. I shot another look at Edward.

Reading my thoughts, Edward rose from the couch and said to everyone, "Come on. I think we should give them some privacy." He silently led everyone out of the room, leaving me alone with Sam for the first time ever. I'd never needed a meeting with the pack before.

"Jasper, we can't allow you to meet with this girl anymore," Sam said seriously.

"No?"

"It's dangerous."

"I can handle it."

"No, you can't."

"How do you know?"

"You're young."

"Not that young."

"You're inexperienced."

"In what?"

Sam didn't answer. "Think of your family," he said in a low voice instead. "Think of what will happen to them if –" his voice cut off, almost as if he couldn't continue.

"If I kill her?" I clarified. "I'm not going to kill her, Sam."

"That's not –" again Sam cut off.

"I can do this, Sam," I said. "Just trust me this one time, and I promise I won't let you down."

"Jasper, that's not –" his breath caught in his throat. "That's not –"

"Hey, I thought you were the Alpha?" I asked him curiously. "No one's above you. How come you can't tell me certain things?"

"There are some things that even the Alpha can't override," Sam said darkly. He stormed for the door. "Stay away from Evadne Sawyer. Or else."

"Wait…what?" Why did he say Evadne Sawyer? Why did it matter which human I killed? I mean…didn't kill. Could she be some cross-wired descendant of the Quileutte tribe? Her skin made it seem unlikely. She must be of value to them somehow though.

I scowled. Who cares? She doesn't smell like one of them. She doesn't act like one of them. She didn't mention them, besides Jacob Black. She was, to me, like my own personal Bella Swan, so fragile and innocent. And she smells so good…

Except for the love thing. I loved Alice, and I always would. And it wouldn't hurt if I had my own Bella. I wasn't single, and Evadne wasn't new, so it wouldn't get as much publicity. It would be small, private, right underneath everyone's noses. The thought of it sent an exhilarating feeling through me; one I hadn't felt since I was human, though I didn't know exactly when. It was the feeling of doing something you oughtn't to, something that would cause massive trouble if you did it.

It was the best feeling in the world.

**Heh-heh. Pretty cool, eh?**

**More unanswered questions. When did the Quileutte wolves hear of Evadne? And why?**

**Ah, you will never suspect the answer, and that's what makes it so sweet.**


	8. A Meeting with Jacob

**Ah, I'm so foolish. If I had any intelligence at all, I would drag this out, maybe work on my parody or my vampire tale. But this is my favorite fic, so I won't. I guess you're just lucky.**

"Jasper," Edward said softly as I walked into the room. "It's okay. He was just trying to protect Evadne."

I gave him a sour face. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Jasper, you know that every human we befriend is in danger," Edward pointed out. "Of the Vulturi, of nomads, of our thirst…It has nothing to do with you."

"That still doesn't make me feel better," I said glumly. "I wish I could drink."

"Look, Jasper, I know it's hard," Edward said gently, his beautiful face outlined by the artificial light. "And it's so easy to abandon caution for the joys of feeling mortal again."

"Like drinking?" I said dully; I couldn't work any form of enthusiasm into my voice. "I was never able to, you know."

"Listen, Jasper, you can't let this get to you," Edward said, looking at me squarely. I looked at him.

"What?" I wondered what I had just heard and if it meant what I thought it did.

"Look, I know what it feels like. The Quileutte wolves came over to give me that talk a few months ago, when we came back," Edward explained. "It doesn't really help your self-esteem."

"W-where was I?"

"You were out hunting," Edward said. "I was the only one in town. They wanted to keep it low-key. But since you have a mind-reader for a best friend and a psychic for a wife…" he chuckled to himself.

"So…you want me to…keep seeing her?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Edward? Take _risks_? With _me_?! What was wrong with him?

"No," he said. "But I understand, is all I'm saying. And you can't let the pack's laws keep you from feeling whole again."

"I can't believe you're saying this," I said, shaking my head with shock. "I mean, Edward…_you_!"

Edward gave me a wry smile. "Yeah, we surprise even ourselves once in a while. You'll find that you'll be doing things you'd never even consider doing a couple months from now – if Evadne's still alive, of course. If she's not, well…" Edward chuckled. "You'll be dead." I didn't get the joke, so I just stared at him.

Edward hesitated, the smile whipping off of his face. "Jacob," he muttered. "He's coming to talk to you."

I groaned. "Didn't Sam just do that?"

"He's mad at Sam," he explained, "For coming to talk to you without him."

"Why does he care?" I asked, crinkling my nose in confusion. "What is going on here?"

"I…I don't know," Edward said, his brow wrinkling in confusion, his mouth twisting into a frown. "He…doesn't say, like everything about Evadne is just…blanked out. This must be what Alice feels like."

"Well, I'm going to destroy him right now," I muttered, heading for the door.

"Jasper! That'll kill Bella!"

I rolled my eyes, but didn't respond.

Jacob had long, black hair and tan skin. His eyes were black, as if he were thirsty, though werewolves didn't get thirsty. And he smelled _awful_!

"What do you want, Jacob?" I snarled.

"Hey, it's not you I want to talk to, leech," he spat. "It's Sam."

"Of course it's not me you want to talk to," I said angrily, stepping towards him. "It's never me you want to talk to. Hell, you don't even know my name!"

"So?"

"So it isn't fair!" I shouted, taking another step forward. "Evadne is my friend, and it's my choice whether I want to hang out with her! She's a great person that loves to draw, and she's got a great future ahead of her! And, yeah, I know there's a risk; I know I could very well ruin that future, but it's my choice to make, and I'm going to be careful, okay? So just run on home and tell your little pack to mind their own business! And maybe get some pants, too."

Jacob growled. Werewolves got angry very easily, and tended to rip out of their clothes. But he did have a pair of very short shorts on, despite the frequent cold whether, but he had no shoes and no shirt, and probably no underwear.

"Listen, leech,"

"The name's Jasper, dog!"

"Fine, fine! _Jasper_, I really couldn't care less what you do with Evadne Sawyer."

"Then why are you here?!"

"Look, you have to watch yourself, all right?" his expression miraculously softened, and I saw a piece of what Bella had known while we were gone. "You think you've got it all figured out, and then –" his breath caught in his throat. He swore under his breath.

"And then _what_?"

"Look, I can't tell you, all right?" he looked extremely frustrated at this fact. "I can't tell you _anything_. It's something you have to find out by yourself. Just be warned, alright? I don't know you, and hopefully I never will, and don't expect me to remember your name, either, but one day you're going to look back on this day and think to yourself, 'I wish I'd pieced it together.' But you won't. They never do."

Jacob turned and began to walk into the bushes to change to a wolf. He looked behind his shoulder. "Be sure to tell Bella that I'm still here, alright? I really…" he paused. "I really miss her."

"They always do," I murmured, but I knew he could hear me. Jacob nodded and disappeared.

Werewolves are so weird, I thought to myself.

**Yeah, like vampires aren't.**

**Ah, yes, I am such a fool. But, hey, what can I do?**

**Be sure to review!!!!!!!!!**


	9. Black Aeonium

**A thanks to my it of a sister that you may call Heather, while I call her Heater, for letting me use her computer to write this chapter on while she uses mine to play Sims 2. (the only reason I let her was because my internet was down. Again.)**

**And remember to review. I never get enough of those things.**

I went up to the room Alice and I shared. It was filled with human technology that didn't exist when I was alive, such as ipods and plasma screen T.V. was also a walk-in closet that Alice had insisted on whenever we moved, and it was filled with the latest fashions that would have made you a laughing stalk if you had worn them when I was human. A wooden dresser stood in the corner to keep our possessions in.

There was no bed, for we didn't need it; instead we had a black, leather couch and two armchairs on either side to match.

I plopped down on the couch for no reason in particular; I never got tired in the least. But I felt so human as I sat there, putting my chin in my hands as I waited for the weekend to be over. I wished that I could have stayed at Evadne's longer; we'd had such a good time. There were no vampires there except for the drawings that lay hidden beneath her floorboards, not a werewolf in sight besides the cover of a classic movie. There was no fear, no anger, no worry. There was nothing but a pleasant feeling of curiousity, which I hadn't felt since I met Alice.

I had a sudden impulse to talk to Evadne again, and I decided to call her. I sprung off the black, leather couch as fast as vampirely possible and sprang for the little wooden dresser in the corner. I ripped the drawer clear out of the dresser, and I dug as fast as I could for the peice of paper with Evadne's phone number.

I began to turn it over to find the number, then hesitated. A half-drawn drawing was on the side opposite of the phone number. It was a picture of a black aeonium, its pedals farther apart than a rose's and its center a spooky green light.

There were eyes up above it. They were light gray, like Evadne's, but there was a tint of the spooky green light at the edge, like a gleam. I looked back at the center of the flower, and back on the eyes of gray, but now they were completely gray. The gleam was gone.

Deciding it was a trick of the light, I headed for the door to go get the phone, my eyes still glued on the black aeonium. Just before I reached it, though, I stopped. I looked up at the wooden door, at the fine grains in every inch, and then I looked back at the glowing green center of the aeonium. I took the picture and hung it on the wall over the bed Alice and I shared, and went to get a piece of paper and pencil from Carlisle's study.

................................................................................................................................................

Again, dawn broke outside my window, but I didn't care. I gave a sigh at the piece of paper in my hands. It wasn't half as good as Evadne's.

I had drawn the door. It wasn't just a rectangle with a knob on it, of course; I'd tried to copy every line, every figure. But it wasn't spectacular.

Then again, how spectacular could you get when you were drawing a door?

**Ta-da!!! I was going to have Jasper call Evadne, but half-way through their conversation, it got awkward. So I decided to make Jazzy artistic.**

**Does that sound good?**

**Well, we'll certainly see.**

**Below are some pictures of black aeoniums with glowing green centers, for reference to Evadne's drawing, but on the internet it could just show up as a big box or not at all, so...I'll let you know in the next chapter how it shows up, even though you can already tell.**


	10. On Your Side

**Okay, obviously the black aeoniums didn't show up. But I'm sure if you google them, you'll find one or two with a green center. They either have green centers or red centers, and maybe one or two black centers. Anyway, they looked really cool when I found them, so that's why I used them.**

**By the way, we'll pretend that Jazzy hung the picture of the aeonium above the dresser instead of the bed that doesn't exist, okay? Okay. Roll ****clipul****. It's, uh…Romanian. I put bits of Romanian in my stories sometimes, just because that's where vampires are theoretically supposed to come from…**

**Whatever. Roll ****clipul****/Roll the clip.**

"Um…Jasper?" Rosalie entered the room and stared at me with her golden gaze. "_What _are you doing?"

At the present, I was trying to draw Spongebob, which had been playing on the flat-screen television. I had paused the show with our expensive tivo remote, and was now trying to copy every line of the living sponge's body.

"Drawing," I murmured.

"That stupid kid's cartoon?" Rosalie asked, her voice jumping up an octave. "Why?"

"Because I suck at drawing," I said, "Thought I'd try something simple."

"So…you're drawing the most annoying sponge on earth." Rosalie said flatly.

"I told you, I suck!"

"Don't you think that's a bit drastic?" Rosalie asked.

"No," I said. "Why?"

"It's just…ever since you met Evadne…"

"Oh, sure," I broke in, throwing my unfinished drawing on the floor and turning to my adoptive sister. "What's happened since then, eh? I've been happier? More artistic? Under control?"

"Jasper, I'm on your side with this," Rosalie said angrily. That stopped me in my tracks.

"What?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard. "_You?_ Rosalie, you _hate_ humans!"

"I don't hate humans, Jasper," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "I just hate the ones that want to throw their lives away."

"So why are you on my side with this?"

"It's just…" Rosalie hesitated. "Evadne is so sweet. I really like her. Honestly, I think Edward should date _her_, not Bella."

"But you know, I could kill her." I wondered to myself why I was trying to make enemies of Rosalie.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "I really don't believe that, Jasper," she said. What? "I don't think you would come close to killing that girl. You're not an animal, you know. You're not a newborn."

"Wow…T-thanks, Rose." How come Rosalie, the snotty, pretty blonde, was the only one that truly believed in me? That was so terribly ironic. And a little sad, too.

"Oh, no problem, Jazz," Rosalie said dismissively. "It's about time that you learned the control you need."

I stared at her, awed. The world was full of surprises.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Before I knew it, Sunday had arrived, and Edward, Emmett, and I went out to hunt.

As we were driving in Emmett's jeep, Emmett spoke up. "Jasper," Emmett's voice was strong and sure, and it usually held a hint of humor, but not today. I was getting pretty sick of people starting conversations with that word.

"What is it this time?" I groaned.

"Nothing, man, don't freak out," Emmett said. "But I just want you to know –" I let out an over exaggerated groan. Emmett shot me an angry look, and continued. "I just want you to know that I don't care if you see Evadne."

"That's just because she called you handsome," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey, Jasper," Emmett said angrily. "There's no need to be a gloomy Gus."

"I'm always a gloomy Gus." I said.

"Jasper," came Edward's soft voice that Bella loved so much. "Be grateful. He's just saying that he supports you."

"I don't support him," Emmett corrected. "I'm just saying that I'm not involved in this; that's all."

"Well, I support him," Edward sniffed.

"Of course you do," Emmett said, the humor back in his voice.

"Oh, you're just upset that Rose won't let you have human friends," Edward teased. Emmett let out a good-natured, extra-loud guffaw, and then all was silent.

**Okay, people. Ta-da! My goal for this? Really, just to get more reviewers than my cousin, currently 22. Of course, I would be honored if this was at the top of the Jasper-fics, but I'm getting ahead of myself. It would be silly to hope for, wouldn't it? After all, I seem to have a knack at driving reviewers away.**

**Who knows why?**


	11. The Magic Touch

**All right, people! We're two reviewers away from beating my cousin! Let's see if we can do this, okay? I want to rub it in her face!**

**Of course, she'll probably get very, very pissed, but…**

**I'll boast virtually. Quickly now! Quickly! Time is of the essence! Read as fast as your eyes will allow, and click the beautiful button below before my cousin can get another reviewer! Quick! Quick! I am very good to you, after all. I update nearly every day! You owe me reviews!**

**Hurry, hurry! Don't hesitate! Don't think it over! Don't wonder if I'm insane! READ!!!!!!!**

**And review, too.**

"Jasper," Evadne greeted me with her sweet smile, her long, black hair seeming to have more volume than ever before. I could hardly believe I had been friends with Evadne for a month.

I'd been to her house three times in just this week; each time her parents were there, and I'd thought about asking her about it on several occasions, but each time I decided it would be better not to pry.

One by one, each and every one of the members of my family told me that they were okay with me seeing Evadne. I was surprised over and over and over again, not expecting it from any of them, though I'd hoped that Alice would. I supposed that Evadne was just overall a really sweet girl that you instantly fell in love with.

Not literally, of course.

Ever so slowly, I'd broken away from Rosalie and Emmett, getting closer and closer to Evadne. She was my best friend now; I sat with her every day at lunch, talked to her in between classes, and went over to her house frequently. It was such an odd couple, the two of us, with Evadne; sweet, kind…her hair so dark, her eyes so light; and me; lost, quiet, unknown…my own hair as wild and light as could be, and my eyes sometimes pitch black. It was terribly ironic.

Yet I didn't regret hanging out with Evadne even a fraction. I still had plenty of time with Alice, who spent her own time with Bella, and every once in a while she joined Evadne and I. They were so similar; they got along very well.

Evadne told me as much as she could about Death Cab for Cutie along the way, showing me a lot of their best…and their strangest. They were all very odd, in truth, so completely unlike any other music I'd ever heard, and they took a while to get used to. It was sort of like you were put off a bit by their songs, but after a little while of forcing yourself to listen to it over and over again, it grows on you, and soon you can't imagine how anybody could ever hate it. I didn't understand it, but since Evadne loved them so much I tried to accept it.

My own personal favorite was still the first one Evadne had shown me… "Brothers on a Hotel Bed", she'd called it, and I thought of it often, trying to decode exactly what it meant. Death Cab was very hard to decode, I'd noticed, especially for a vampire that often got distracted.

Every evening I saw the picture of the glowing-green black aeonium above my dresser, and every morning when I saw Evadne I couldn't bring myself to ask about it. I never saw that green gleam in the gray eyes above it again, and soon, even with my advanced memory, I nearly forgot about it.

At the present it was Friday, and I planned to go over to Evadne's house for a fourth time after school.

"Hey, Evadne," I couldn't help smiling back at her; it was contagious. "Are we still on for after school?"

"As long as you're still up for it," Evadne said sweetly. "But I was kind of thinking…" she trailed off, then shook her head. "Never mind."

"No, what?" She had done so much for me in the last month; it was the least I could do to hear what she had to say.

"It's just…I thought maybe sometime we could go over to…_your_ house." Evadne turned a light shade of pink. "It's stupid, I know."

"No, no," I shook my head quickly. "That's not stupid at all. You're right. I never thought about...I'll ask Carlisle. I'm sure he won't say no; everyone in my family loves you."

"Really?" Evadne asked shyly, turning a deeper shade of pink.

"Oh, yeah. Even Rosalie; she's probably the most resistant to…other people." Whoa, that was close, I thought. I had been about to say "most resistant to humans." It was a good thing I caught it. It sounded off, so I added, "Than our family. Since she became an orphan, she's been a little distrusting. She likes you, though. You must have the magic touch."

Evadne turned an even deeper shade of pink, if that was even possible. "Oh, I don't believe that," she said.

"Well, you must," I said. "Because everyone just flat out fell in love with you as soon as they heard about you. Maybe it's just…genetic."

"You don't share genetics," Evadne pointed out.

"Oh." I gave her a grin, offering no other explanation. She laughed, and her face lost a tint of its redness. "Anyway, I'll ask them all at lunch and give Carlisle a call then. Don't worry; it's as good as a yes."

**Attach the next part to this chapter. Should I? Should I not? I shouldn't…but I will.**

I approached Edward, Alice, and Bella as comfortably as I ever had; Evadne had given me the chance to grow in resistance, and though my throat began to burn a little, I wasn't that bothered by Bella's delicious scent. I gave Alice a good, long kiss, which surprised her a bit, and when I surfaced I saw Bella looking at me uncomfortably and Edward with amusement in his eyes.

"Hey," I said with a little wave, a goofy smile on my face from the joy of kissing Alice.

"Um…hey, Jasper," Bella said quietly; I knew she was shy around me and couldn't figure out the reason of anything I was doing.

"What's up, Jazz?" Edward asked, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. The Cullens had a way of doing that. "How've you been?"

"Oh, same as usual," I said, though we all knew that wasn't true. "Hey, can Evadne come over today? I think she's getting a little mad that I've just been invading her house for a month."

"Oh…sure, Jazz," Edward looked caught by surprise, even though he could read my mind, which I found a little odd. "As long as everyone else says it's okay…"

I looked to Alice. She gave an encouraging smile and a nod. "I'd love to get to know her better," she added.

"Aw, great," I said happily. Then I turned to Rosalie and Emmett, which was slightly more terrifying. I wasn't as good of friends with them as Edward and Alice, though I loved them both a lot.

I cleared my throat, and the two looked up at me. "Jasper," Emmett said with one of his full-faced grins. "What's up? We haven't seen you in a while." Rosalie looked at me with a calm patient stare, which you rarely saw from her. You rarely saw that from anyone, really.

"Would it be alright with you if Evadne came over after school?" I asked.

They exchanged looks.

"Sure," Rosalie said, a look on her face that was far too pleasant to be a normal Rosalie-look. But I didn't question it, and Emmett nodded.

"Of course," he said.

I gave a sigh of relief. "Excellent," I breathed. I waved over my shoulder as I began to walk back to Evadne.

**Okay! I've given you a treat, though you don't really deserve it. But come, come, come! Click that button right there below! You know, that one that says, "**Review this Story/Chapter". **You see it. You know you see it. Don't pretend you don't see it. You see it! Now click it and review!!!**

**Or else… (Inserts spooky, haunted look).**

**Um…**


	12. Happiness and Bliss

**Congratulations!!!!!! We have officially beaten my cousin! I obviously couldn't beat her 167 reviewed Ask the Cullens, or her 178 reviewed What Could Go Wrong, but I could beat her 22 reviewed The Only Way!**

**First, I must give credit to those who helped me achieve this goal: **vanessa-scottsman, DMLefty, Vulcanvamp, readslotsoftrash, . **(if you'd believe it), **Jacquie Whitlock, Chaney, chantal xoxo, Jasper's Lil Red, Megan Geyer, **and an anonymous reviewer called, **Jaz. **So, this is for all you guys; thanks so much for letting me finally get more reviews than my cousin. Or anyone, really. The most I ever got was 53, but compared to 178…? And she ISN'T FINISHED YET!!!!!!**

**Scary, isn't it?**

I was practically exploding with happiness as Evadne and I rode in the back of Emmett's jeep to our house. Emmett was driving one-handed, his arm around the back of Rosalie's seat. Alice was on one side of me, and Evadne was on the other. There wasn't a place on this Earth I would rather be.

I could feel the grin grow on my face with every inch that we past, with every vibration the motor made, with every breath I heard Evadne take. Was such bliss possible? I had to ask myself. I'd felt it before, once in a blue moon, but only with Alice. Now I had two people that could ever make me this happy. Was there really anything wrong with that?

Our family was so large that we needed two cars. There was just Emmett, Alice, Evadne, and I in this car, and in the other there was Edward and Rosalie. Rosalie had strangely agreed to give up driving with Emmett so that she could "keep Edward company." That sweet, nonchalant expression at lunch made me question her real intentions, but I didn't think it had anything to do with Edward himself. And it wasn't any of my business, even if it did.

But it didn't.

I couldn't resist a chuckle as I saw Edward's silver Volvo pull up next to us. Evadne and Alice shot me confused glares, but soon Alice was smiling, too. She knew me so well.

I could tell that Evadne was overwhelmed by our house, as it was easy to see. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was an eager grin; her eyes held a mysterious glint. "This is your house?" she asked. I nodded.

"They've got to keep us all somewhere," I said teasingly.

"Wow," she said. I was practically bursting with happiness.

"Come on," I said excitedly. "Esme's getting dinner ready!" Wow, I thought. All of a sudden I've turned into Alice.

_What's so wrong with that?_ argued that terribly annoying voice in my head.

Sure enough, Esme was there, cooking away in pots and pans that we had only bought for decoration. They'd only been used once before, for Bella, and I'd hardly been able to keep from killing her. I was glad that wasn't the case anymore.

I could tell that the situation was awkward for Evadne as she tried to socialize with the seven strangest people in history, and it was a little awkward for me, too. It wasn't so much that they embarrassed me, or that I didn't want them around, but because Evadne was here for me. I didn't think she meant it to be a big event.

But it was, and there was absolutely nothing that either of us could do about it now. Evadne shot me gray, questioning looks from time to time. I wasn't Edward, but I could tell what she was thinking.

After a time, I cleared my throat and shot Edward a look. He smiled and gave me a shrug, then stood up.

"Hey, guys," he said, hardly able to hide his smile. "Why don't we let Jasper give Evadne a tour, eh?"

Alice chuckled, but agreed, and so did everyone else. They cleared out and left me and Evadne alone. Then I wondered what to do; I couldn't show her my room, because there was no bed, and I was sure there were many other things that were off about the house, too. I couldn't give her a tour!

So we stared at each other for a few seconds. If I wasn't a vampire, I would be blushing right now.

"Um…" Evadne's voice was so soft; if I wasn't a vampire I wouldn't have heard it.

_Boom!_ The front door slammed open so fast and so hard, it almost hurt my over-sensitive ears. "JASPER!!!" Okay, I thought to myself. _Ow!_ I couldn't help wincing and covering my ears at the scream.

None other than Jacob Black ran into the room, his hair cut since the last time I saw him. His black eyes were flaming, and his hands were in fists. I was shocked to see him; what was he doing here?

"You remembered my name, I see," I muttered, still trying to shake off the scream.

"I thought Sam told you to stay away from Evadne," he snapped.

"I thought I told you both that it's my choice to make," I shot back.

"Look, this isn't about your god damn choices," Jacob shouted. "It's about _her_." He thrust a tan, quivering arm in Evadne's direction. Evadne just looked scared.

"Oh, yeah?"

But he was done talking to me now. Jacob turned to Evadne, sadness in his eyes. "Evadne," he whispered. "Why? You said –" his breath caught in his throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Evadne said, looking frightened. "I don't know you. I've never seen you before."

"Jacob," I snarled, getting into a protective position stating that I meant business. Jacob's head snapped back to me. "Get the hell away from here. I'm giving you ten seconds, and then I'm going to throw you out of here." Literally, I added dryly.

Cursing under his breath, Jacob stormed out of the house, and again Evadne and I were left alone.

**Pretty good, eh? Suspenseful, right? Reviewing was worth it, right?**

**Right?**

**Well, keep it up. At any moment, my cousin could update her story, and BAM! She'd have five more reviewers in a heartbeat. So we've got to make sure we can keep up. Click the button. It's a cause that has no end, as long as my cousin and I stay on fanfiction, which we will.**

**I've got a question for you, something to review about. What do you think Jacob is talking about?**


	13. As Long As We Found Him

**All right! In case you're wondering, none of my reviewers were called **. **The period represents my cousin's username, pink crazy twilight lover with periods instead of spaces. But when I put her username, it shows up on fanfiction as a single dot.**

**Anyway, in case you were wondering.**

**By the way, the question of what you think Jacob is talking about is still in session. I want to see all of your guesses, just so I can chuckle about them and think about the real reason. I guarantee none of you will guess, but I'd love to see you try!**

**It will amuse me.**

Evadne left then, the atmosphere too awkward for it to be made up. I thanked her for coming quietly and politely, avoiding eye contact, and I watched her walk away for a few moments before I broke into a rage, searching for Edward.

I found him in his room, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling; daydreaming about Bella no doubt. He heard me storm in, and he broke out of his daze to look at me with a confused expression on his face.

"That's it," I shouted. "You tell those stupid freaking wolves to _leave me alone_!" All confusion was gone. He stared at me with wide eyes.

"What happened?" he demanded flatly.

"Your _girlfriend's_ best man came on over and had some kind of meltdown!" I cried. "He went on in and started shouting at me!" Edward tensed, and I could see a glimmer of a snarl.

"Why don't those freaking wolves get it?" he growled. He stood, his hands clenched at his sides. "Don't worry, Jasper. I'll get to the bottom of this."

"Oh, no," I said warningly. "Not this time you won't. I don't want to get to the bottom of this. I want them dead."

Edward peered at me, and I could feel that he was on the verge of amused and confused. "We can't kill them, Jasper."

I groaned. "Well, why do they have to parade into the house?"

"Look, I'll do my best, Jazz."

I shook my head. "I don't _want_ you to do your best. I want to find him so I can give him a piece of my mind, and you're the fastest runner." Edward looked at me with wide eyes as he realized what I was getting at.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Soon we were racing through the woods, seeking nothing but the terrible-smelling teenage-wolf. We ran, smelling and listening and searching, but we could sense nothing, not even the trail of Jacob's scent. We were going entirely on impulse, on where we thought he might have gone. Edward took the direction of La Push; I went towards Evadne's house.

I had no idea why Jacob would go to Evadne's house, but I supposed it didn't matter either way, as long as we found him. I didn't know what I would do with him when I did find him, but I didn't care. As long as we found him.

Then one of the strangest things that ever happened to me occurred right then. I tripped.

Vampires don't trip. We are far too coordinated for that; have far too advanced reflexes. So of course it surprised me when I fell face-first into the dirt.

Then I realized that I didn't trip; I fell. I stepped into a ditch, covered with a thin carpet that looked like the forest floor. Normally I would have noticed it, but I was too distracted at the thought of finding Jacob.

Swearing under my breath, I climbed out of the ditch – and stopped. Lying three feet away was a face; a face unlike any face I'd ever seen before.

An unconscious Jacob's.

His eyes were closed, twitching a little. His mouth was open as if he were about to groan, and his expression was peaceful. He was lying on his back with his arms on the ground beside him. His black hair, recently cut and cut very badly at that was messed up and everywhere, and he looked almost…childlike.

His black eyes opened suddenly, and he gasped, but if he saw me, he didn't acknowledge that, and soon he was resting peacefully again.

All my anger drained away after that, and I quickly scooped him up in my arms and carried him back to the house.

**Suspenseful music! Okay, please, please submit what you think the answer to the question is. I will repeat the question just in case.**

**What was Jacob talking about and why is he mad about Evadne?**

**With this new info it could be anything.**

**But you will never guess…**


	14. Panicked

**All right! We've reached the 25-review mark! –Does a little dance-**

**And oh, would I LOVE reaching 50 or 75. And 100! Oh, that would be a dream! But that's asking WAY too much.**

**Why? Not enough time, of course! I've just decided that there will be fifteen chapters in this story, and what do you know? This is chapter fourteen! But chapter fifteen will be about as long as three chapters combined! And it will have ALL the answers you seek. Oh, yes indeed. But it comes at a price; a price that will be described at the end of this chapter.**

I stared mesmerized at the unconscious teenage werewolf as he lay on the only bed we had in the house. He looked both peaceful and disturbed, as if through his tranquility there was something missing, something he needed to do before he could finally let go, and I was pretty sure it had something to do with me.

My family wanted to let this sink in, so they decided to talk right outside the doorway. But I was too shocked to hear them.

"Oh, poor dear," Esme said sympathetically.

"I wonder what happened to him," Rosalie murmured quietly.

"I don't know," Edward whispered, almost fearfully, "But he'd better not die." I'd have rolled my eyes if I wasn't traumatized. Edward hated Jacob, but because he made Bella happy, he had to live.

I wasn't that found of Jacob Black, but he'd never conflicted with me before. He was the werewolf that fell in love with Bella Swan; that's it. I was the guy who made sure a fight didn't break out on the spot; that's it. I didn't know a single thing about Jacob Black. But seeing him here, seeming to be on the verge of insanity, made me realize that he was just a regular teenager that had some major family troubles, just like I used to be a regular teenager before Maria had bitten me.

So why was he doomed to be a werewolf? Simply because of his ancestors? Was that any fairer than being a vampire just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Of course it wasn't.

Yet you had to envy those werewolves. They had an actual _choice_. If they really didn't want to be a werewolf, they could stop turning into one and life would go on, and they would all the memories of their ancestry would be kept in a box to bring out only when their children became sixteen.

But they would have to run. They would have to flee as fast as they could away from the Quileute tribe, shunning their family and never turning back. They'd have to move to New York or L.A. or somewhere where their family would never find them, and they'd have to be careful never to get angry.

It would be tough, but it could be done.

"Jasper?" Alice's voice was soft and anxious as she gently placed a hand on my shoulder. I didn't respond, still fixed on Jacob. "It'll be okay."

I turned to Alice slowly. Her pixie-like face was sweet and solemn, her golden eyes somber and sure. She looked so beautiful, standing there, and I couldn't resist a wry half-smile. "I know," I said, my voice filled with my love.

She returned my smile, and I wrapped her in a soft embrace. Even through this massive confusion and distress, I still felt almost…happy. There wasn't a place in this world I would rather be than in Alice's arms. She was me, and I was her, and we were one.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

For a long while, Alice and I embraced, and that was perfectly okay with me. I didn't need more, and I didn't want less. I just wanted to be here now with her, and slowly the rest of my family left to give us some privacy.

Then Jacob made a sound, and we unwound from one another to look at him.

It looked as if he was having a seizure, thrashing about on the bed. His eyes flew open, but they were unseeing. His breath came in gasps, and he seemed paler than usual. Alice disappeared, and I assumed it was to get Carlisle. But before she could return, Jacob lay still and his breath was so slow, I could hardly hear it. But it was there.

And his eyes closed slowly and ever so gently, and before he dropped off, he whispered ever so quietly, "Evadne…" And he was once again asleep. But this time it was intentional.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Carlisle rushed in what seemed like hours later, but it was only seconds. "Is he alright?" he asked frantically.

"Yeah," I said, not looking at him. "He's fine. He…panicked. But he's alright now. He's asleep."

Carlisle looked at me suspiciously. "Did you kill him?"

"What? No!" I turned to him in bewilderment.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that you were mad at him –"

"I'm not mad at him anymore."

"Just because he got hurt?"

"Yeah," I breathed. "Something like that."

I wasn't mad at him anymore, and it _was_ because he got hurt. But it wasn't because of his physical injuries. I wasn't mad at him anymore because I knew, looking at his panic attack, that he had been hurt, and he had been hurt more than once.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I'm going to Evadne's house," I murmured, rushing toward the door.

"Jasper," Carlisle called. "This isn't something you can run away from!" I stopped and turned back to Carlisle. I looked him in the eye and said quietly and surely,

"I didn't plan to."

**All right! Sorry about getting all mushy up there with Alice; it's so hard to resist those kinds of things.**

**Right. Each dotted line represents a possible end of the chapter, a cliffhanger, but I continued on. You'll see that in the next chapter.**

_**ATTENTION READERS**_

Okay, Uxiegirl here! I usually put my messages in **BOLD**, but this is long and important, and I want to make sure you get it straight.

Okay, so far there have been fourteen chapters in Persuasion. Let's review, shall we?

Stares: Jasper first meets Evadne

Lunch Tables: Evadne interviews Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett

Number and Address: Evadne invites Jasper over to her house and gives him a picture of a black aeonium with a green center. Jasper thinks he may have seen a green glimmer in a pair of gray eyes drawn above it.

I Can: Jasper decides that it's time to take a stand and gain control over his thirst.

Front Page: To Jasper's humiliation, Evadne's interview ends up on the front page of the school newspaper!

Change Back: Jasper goes over to Evadne's house for the first time, where Evadne's parents are nowhere to be found. Evadne shows Jasper drawings of people she knows vampire-style. She gives Jasper a drawing of himself, and tells him that "Maybe one day the vision will come true, and you'll look at it and think to yourself that you need to change back."

A Meeting with Sam: Sam Ulley comes over and demands that Jasper stops seeing Evadne, but he can't tell them certain things about her.

A Meeting with Jacob: Jacob comes over, pissed at Sam for talking to Jasper without him.

Black Aeonium: Jasper develops an obsession over drawing.

On Your Side: Jasper finds out, to his surprise, that there isn't one person in his family that opposes his relationship with Evadne.

The Magic Touch: Jasper is finally perfectly content with his life.

Happiness and Bliss: Evadne comes over to the Cullen household, where Jacob storms in.

As Long As We Found Him: Jasper, pissed at Jacob, goes out to look for him and finds him unconscious in the dirt.

Panicked: Well, duh. You just read it!

Throughout these fourteen chapters, you've seen Jasper at his worst and at his best. You've seen his relationship with Alice. You've seen Death Cab for Cutie, featured in Chapter 6.

There are many things that you will figure out in the next and final chapter of this epic tale. Here's a couple of the questions that will be answered.

Why did Evadne draw an aeonium of all things?

Why do Jacob and the wolf pack have a problem with Jasper seeing Evadne?

Why was Jacob alone in the woods?

Why are Evadne's parents gone?

And, most importantly, how will this end?

There will also be several other questions that will be answered, even though they were never asked. None of these were asked, actually.

-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`_~-`

_**REQUIREMENTS**_

But you don't really believe that you're getting off that easy, do you? I mean, the last fourteen chapters have been FREE! No threats, no requirements, no time limit. Day after day after day there was another chapter up. And, yes, it got me 25 reviews, and I'm grateful for that.

But this is going to cost you a little more.

My requirements are simple. I want five more reviews before I post Chapter 15, which means there should be at least 30 reviews for this story before it's up.

I also want three people to tell me what they assume is the answer to one of the questions above. Lucky for you, Megan Geyer already tried to answer a question earlier on, so you just need two more people. I'd put it in a review if I were you; that way it counts for both, but if you really think it could be right, go ahead and PM me.

Or do both! Why not?

_**HINTS**_

Okay. I don't know if there are actually five different people that are going to review here, and that's okay. Really, it is. All you've got to do, (wink, wink) is log out and post your question in a review for an anonymous person!!!!

Or just review twice.

Take your time, though, because I am prepared!!!! I am prepared to tough it out! I am prepared to read the chapter over and over and over again to make sure it's perfect! I am prepared to seek out when I'm finished, to do a little reading on fanfiction and see how many people I can find who might be interested in this. I am prepared!

So don't rush me!

Not like you will, or anything.

**Don't worry! It will be worth it! So you'd better review!!!! And I PROMISE that you will NOT guess!!!!**

**Ah, yes. Bliss.**


	15. Persuasion

**CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**People, this is it! This is what you've been waiting for! It's the answer! It's the finish! It's the end of Persuasion!!!**

**And you know what? It's a little sad.**

She was doodling in a notepad when I climbed in through her window, as silent as I could.

"Evadne," My voice was hardly recognizable as I spoke her name. She looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. I took a step back.

They had an eerie glint of green.

"Jasper!" Evadne's eyes quickly switched back to their familiar gray, but it was too late. I had seen the glint, and as a vampire, I would never forget it.

"What _are_ you?" I shouted. Evadne rose from her chair desperately.

"Jasper, I –" I took another step backward. "I can explain!"

"Yeah, good!" I was seriously panicking right now.

"Jasper, you trust me, right?" She looked at me innocently.

"Well, I_ did_!"

"Jasper, please, just sit down," she begged. And strangely, I did. I sat down right there on the floor, and Evadne slowly walked over and sat across from me. There was guilt in her eyes.

"Evadne, please," my voice shook a little with fear. "What _are_ you?"

She looked at the floor, her straight, black hair draping over her face. "Jasper," she said, "I'm a…Persuader."

I just stared at her. "What?"

"Look, my name is Evadne Rosabell Sawyer. I was born a little…different. We all were." She bit her lip. I gestured with my hands impatiently, motioning for her to continue. "So we formed a clan, a shelter if you will, so we could help each other figure out why and what to do now."

"We as in who?" I asked.

"Mutants," Evadne said quietly. If I was drinking something, I would have spit it out right then. "Our parents all abandoned us, scared of us or just disappointed in us. We all met in an orphanage when I was eight, and…" she trailed off, thinking for a moment. "You know what?" she said. "Why should I _tell_ you when I can _show_ you?" With that, Evadne stretched out her hand.

I stared at it with wide eyes for a moment, leaning back slowly. Evadne cocked her head a little. "Jasper?" Her voice sounded heartbroken, and I felt waves of hurt coming from her. And so I slowly leaned forward until Evadne's outstretched hand touched my forehead.

_Evadne, small and innocent. Her long, black hair was filled with volume and life, and her gray eyes were dark and wide. There was color in her cheeks and she wore a vibrant jumper that suited her quite nicely. She looked so different than now; I wondered how it was I still knew it was her._

_But it was._

_She wasn't alone; children were moping all around her. None of them looked happy; none of them had a hint of a smile on their faces. I looked around at them all, and names appeared in my mind as I looked at their faces. Johnny, Angelica, Katie, Sue, Harry, Brandon, Trevor, Lilly, Beth. But as soon as the names were heard, they disappeared from my memory; they weren't important._

_My eyes settled on two boys, one thin and blonde and the other huskier with black hair. The names __Cáel__ and Valentine echoed through my head, and these stayed. They were vital to this story, I knew._

_The boys were arguing quietly, so quietly that I couldn't hear, and they side-glanced at Evadne every now and then. Evadne just looked at her shoes, a somber look on her face._

_Finally, the smaller one named__ Cáel__ walked over to her. Evadne looked up at him, and I saw him through her eyes._

_He was taller than her by a couple inches, and there was a serious look on his face. His skin was light, almost as light as mine but not quite, and his eyes were a clear, light blue. His hair was sticking up all around, seeming not to have been brushed for a long time, and I saw just a hint of freckles along the bridge of his nose._

_I both saw and felt Evadne blush, something I hadn't done since I'd been turned, and she looked away. "Are you Evadne?" __Cáel__ asked in a low voice. She nodded, still not looking at him. "Well, then," he said. "Welcome to hell."_

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

_There was a new vision, Evadne with another girl sneaking around the hallway. The girl had short, curly blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, and her face had a mischievous expression. Looking at her, I could hear her name; Ashlynn._

_Her eyes light with excitement, Ashlynn gestured with her hand and pranced lightly down the hall, crouching down and looking around. Evadne followed and crouched beside her._

_"I don't know, Ash. I'm kind of having second thoughts about this," Evadne said worriedly._

_"Don't worry, Vad. This is completely risk-free. They'll never catch us, and we'll be able to find out more about __Cáel__ and Valentine!" Ashlynn whispered excitedly._

_"But what if, when we find out, we wish we didn't?" Evadne asked anxiously. "What if it's something bad?"_

_"It won't be," Ashlynn said quietly. "At least nothing worse than what we've already seen." Evadne nodded._

_The pair crept up quietly to a big, wooden door, and they pressed their ears against it intensely. They waited, standing there and hearing nothing, then the door swung open, and the girls tumbled inside._

_The big one named Valentine loomed over the girls as they looked up with wide eyes. __Cáel__ was leaning against a small, twin-sized bed nonchalantly, staring at the girls with distaste and disappointment. "Well," said Valentine in a deep, gruff voice. "If it isn't you two again."_

_"Look, Valentine, would you please just tell me already?" Ashlynn cried. "It's killing me! What's going on with you two?"_

_Valentine gave a gesture to__ Cáel__ without looking at him, who was staring at Ashlynn and Evadne with a blank, evaluating look. "Show them, __Cáel__," he said in a low, flat voice. __Cáel pushed himself off the twin-sized bed nonchalantly, and turned with cat-like reflexes and shot out his hand towards the bed. Twisting, burning fire shot out from the palm of his hand towards the bed; Evadne gasped and Ashlynn stared, wide-eyed. Flames licked at the feather pillow until it was only ash._

_"We have an extra pillow, right?" Cáel asked, turning to Valentine. Valentine had a conceited smile on his face as he stared at the girls and he didn't answer Cáel. Instead, he chuckled._

_"This is way beyond you," he snarled. "Both of you. If I were you, I would go back to your rooms, lie down in bed, and pretend that this was all a dream."_

_To my surprise, as well as the surprise of everybody else in the room, Ashlynn began to chuckle. Her chuckle grew slowly until it was a loud laugh. Valentine, Cáel, and Evadne stared at her as if she was crazy. They probably thought she was._

_"Oh, Valentine," Ashlynn said as she struggled to contain her laughter. "Your little show with Cáel was amusing; I'll give you that. But do you really think it would scare _me_?"_

_"It wasn't a show, Ashlynn," Valentine growled in a low voice. "That was real."_

_"Of course it was," Ashlynn said, amusement in her eyes. "So is this." And, before my eyes, she shifted, changed, grew. Her curly, blonde hair went flat, and she shot up several inches. Her body flattened and reshaped, altered and enlarged, until finally she resembled the exact shape of Cáel. The real Cáel gasped and took a step back. Valentine's eyes widened, and Evadne turned pale. Then the Cáel that had once been Ashlynn gave a little smile, and then shot a similar bolt of fire at Valentine._

_Valentine ducked, and the flames went over his head until they hit the back of the twin-sized bed. When he rose again, his eyes were wild with fear as he stared at Ashlynn – or was it Cáel? Slowly he/she shifted and contracted until he/she was once more a little eight-year-old girl with blonde curls and a smug smile on her face._

_"What were you saying? That it was beyond me? It's beyond _you_. That's who needs to watch out. That's who needs to crawl back into bed and pretend it's a dream." Valentine looked at her like he wanted to kill her. Ashlynn just smiled. "So," she said like only a self-satisfied eight-year-old could. "What can _you_ do?"_

_"Oh, me?" Valentine got a nonchalant look on his face. "Nothing much. Just this," He walked over to the twin-sized bed and lifted it up, holding it on one finger. He set it down carefully. "I suppose it's nothing compared to shape shifting, though."_

_Cáel stepped towards Evadne, a cautious look on his face. "And what can you do?" he asked quietly._

_"M-me?" Evadne stammered in a high-pitch voice. Cáel nodded. "Oh. Lots of things. The most common is…I guess you could call it sensing. I sense who has powers, who's…out of the ordinary. Not just people like us. Vampires, too. Werewolves, witches, vampires…anything. Whatever comes along."_

_Cáel nodded. "Interesting," he said quietly. He turned to Valentine with a kind of panic in his eyes. "Val? What do we do now?"_

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................................................................................................

_The vision changed; a group of five sitting in a circle in a musty attic. It was made up of Valentine, Cáel, Evadne, Ashlynn, and a girl that looked about thirteen with long, straight brown hair and dark eyes. I heard her name as soon as I lay eyes on her: Shae. Evadne and Ashlynn now looked ten, Cáel looked fourteen, and Valentine looked about seventeen._

_Valentine was making a speech at that moment and his voice was just as loud and gruff as it was two years before. "Again we have been ignored," he was saying, "Again we have been interviewed by the adults, and again they have rejected us. How long must we take this? How long must we have our lives ruined simply because we are different?"_

_Cáel was bowing his head, taking in every word. There were black-and-blue bruises beneath his eyes, as if he was a vampire, and his hair was smoothed down over his eye._

_Evadne spoke up then. "Valentine," she said, "If adults were to adopt us, we would never see each other again. Is it really worth it?"_

_Valentine looked weary all of a sudden. He sighed and began, "Vad –"_

_"Of course it's worth it," Cáel interrupted. "We will always have each other in our hearts, Evadne, but of course it's worth it if you're wanted, if at last you have somebody that cares about you in spite of it all. Wouldn't you love it if somebody chose to take you, if somebody took you home and cared for you like you were there own simply because they wanted to?"_

_"Of course," she said, surprised at the question. Cáel gave a shrug._

_"There you go," he said. "But doesn't it just suck that it hasn't happened? The world really has a cruel way of looking at things."_

_Nobody answered. They knew better than to reply to that._

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………................................................................................................

_Again the scene changed. The five were standing outside the orphanage now, looking at Valentine with a feeling of remorse._

_"But Val – where will you go?" Ashlynn asked fretfully._

_"I don't know," he said honestly with a shrug. "Wherever I want, I guess."_

_"Man, you can't do this," said Cáel desperately. I thought I saw a glimmer of a tear in his eye, but I couldn't be sure. Valentine shrugged._

_"Do I really have a choice?" he asked. "I can't live here anymore; I'm too old. Nobody wanted me; that's clear to see. Now all I can do is see how well I can get by."_

_"This isn't fair," Ashlynn cried, a single tear sliding down her cheek. She whipped it away fiercely. "We have to be apart no matter what, whether somebody adopts us or not!"_

_"Especially if nobody adopts us," Shae added helplessly, looking at her shoes._

_"Don't worry, guys," Valentine said softly. "I'll get by somehow. I can't afford college or anything, but I can still get a job. It'll just take a lot of work. But I can do it; I promise. And maybe someday I can come back here and…and…"_

_"Burn this place down?" Cáel said darkly._

_"No, that would be your job," Valentine said with a wry smile. Then he grew serious. "Come on, guys," he said softly. "It'll be okay. Someday."_

_Ashlynn began to cry as Valentine turned with a little wave and walked away from the orphanage._

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...............................................................................................

_The scene changed, and Evadne was holding Ashlynn tenderly on a bed as she cried. "I miss him so much," she choked. Evadne nodded and stroked her hair, which was now longer and matted._

_"I know," she said gently. "I know. Shh… It'll be alright."_

_"No, it won't," Ashlynn cried. "I'll never see him again!"_

_So Evadne just kept stroking Ashlynn's hair and quieting her gently, murmuring reassurance._

_Ashlynn was silent after a while, probably asleep, and Evadne slipped away from her just as a shadow draped across the doorway. Evadne cautiously crept out into the hall and searched for the figure that the shadow belonged to._

_It was Cáel._

_He was turned away from her, still and silent. Evadne tiptoed close to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and said quietly, "Are you alright?"_

_"That depends on your definition," he mumbled. "I'm not dead, at least."_

_Evadne wrapped him in an embrace and cuddled against him for a while, murmuring just as she had with Ashlynn. "It'll be alright. It's okay. Shh…"_

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................................................................................

_Evadne was sitting in a chair at a table, looking around thirteen. At the other end of the table was a couple in their mid-twenties, smiling happily at her._

_"Well Evadne," said the man, "You seem like a lovely, beautiful girl and…"_

_"We want to take you home with us," his wife added sweetly. "Would you like that, dear?"_

_Evadne nodded, shocked. "I-I'd love that so very much," she said._

_"Excellent," said the man happily. "We'll confirm the adoption papers, and then it'll be set!"_

_"You're going to be our daughter, Evadne," said the woman with a sweet smile._

Suddenly I was back in Evadne's room, staring at her closed, gray eyes. They opened, staring at me expectantly.

"Um…wow," was all I could say.

"Thank you," said Evadne. "That's all you need to know."

"Wait –" I interrupted. "That doesn't answer any of my questions. Why were your eyes green? How does Jacob know you? I'm still back at square one!"

"Oh – sorry," Evadne said sheepishly. "Yeah, um…I can't show you this part for some reason. I've tried – I really have – but I can't seem to get it through. Every mutant's eyes have a glint of color. Valentine's glint was purple, Cáel's was gold, Ashlynn's was a variation of colors considering her power, Shae's was pink, and mine was green. The glints don't come up often, but they help tell us apart. My power is just easier than getting a flashlight and shining it in their eyes a certain way."

"What was Shae's power – it didn't say."

"Oh. Shae was like Cupid. She could make anybody love another person, but she couldn't take love away. Oh, and she didn't have arrows. She wasn't that useful, but she was fun to have."

"And…Jacob?" I pressed.

"Oh, Jacob," Evadne turned a deep shade of pink. "Well, I was really the only one out of us that ever got adopted. Ashlynn got upset, you see – they all did. So she and she alone came here to sort of…get revenge on the world, on me. She transformed into me, and she went around ruining my social life – like I would care about that.

"She met Jacob, and she dated him, pretending to be me. Then she horribly, horribly dumped him. He got depressed."

"And…that's why he doesn't want you with me," I said slowly.

"Yes. He thinks I'm dangerous."

"Oh," I said slowly. "What happened to Ashlynn?"

"Oh…she turned into a tree by accident and couldn't change back. It was pretty humiliating, actually." Evadne blushed.

"Right…"

"Oh, please don't hate me, Jasper," Evadne pleaded. "I promise I didn't mean any harm – I knew you wouldn't like me if I told you what I was." I gestured with my hands for her to calm down.

"No – no. It's okay. I don't hate you – I promise. Why would I?" I knew all to well her reasons. It wasn't like I ran to tell her that I was a vampire, after all.

I stood up, and she did too. "Okay, um…Vad," Evadne blushed at the name I'd heard her friends use. "I'm just going to go home now. I've got a lot to think about."

"But Jasper, you said you didn't –"

"I don't hate you, I promise," I said gently. "I just need some space, okay?" Evadne nodded, biting her lip.

"Okay," she said quietly. I gave her a soft peck on the cheek and escaped out the window; I ran as fast as I could home.

………………………………………………………………………………………………...................................................................................................................................................

I rushed in through the door, Jacob still unconscious and breathing strangely. "Guys!" I shouted. "Guys! I'm back! Guys!"

Alice was there in a flash, wrapping her arms around me in a tight embrace. "Oh, Jasper," she cried into my shoulder. "I missed you. Where did you go?"

I stretched her out at arms length and looked her over; oh, how I missed her. "You know," I said at last. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

………………………………………………………………………………………………....................................................................................................................................................

Up in my room, I sunk into the black, leather couch and sighed. My eyes wandered to the picture of the aeonium with the green center – then stopped. I looked at the picture again, and I stared at it, transfixed. Ever so cautiously I rose from the black, leather couch and walked steadily and mutely over to my dresser; I reached out my hand to smooth it over the piece of paper.

The center was a terrifying blood red.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….....................................................................................................................................................

I heard a crash from below, and I hurried at vampire speed towards it, and away from the red-centered aeonium.

I found Quil hunched over in the kitchen, clutching his foot. He looked up when I entered and his face went blank. "Hello…you," he said after a while.

"Name's Jasper," I said.

"Sure, sure. Where's Jake?" Quil looked both concerned and assertive; he probably already knew we had him.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," I said sheepishly, running a hand through my hair. "Jake had an accident in the woods a while ago; I don't know what or how, but I found him and brought him back here. We don't know what's wrong with him, but he's sleeping now." Quil swore under his breath. That surprised me a little, though it probably shouldn't have; Quil just didn't seem like a swearing kind of guy. Then again, this was his best friend. "We should have told you," I added, just in case. "But we had no idea where to find you or if any of you were across the border."

"I knew I shouldn't have let him come," Quil muttered, though I could still hear him fine, "Not alone, anyway."

"Relax, Quil; it's not your fault." Quil's head shot up to look at me.

"You know my name?" The way he sounded made it seem impossible.

"Of course I do. I get bored; I'm good with names, eternal memory, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't hard to learn, really."

"Right, uh…"

"Jasper," I put in.

"_Jasper_," Quil repeated impatiently. "Where's Jake?"

"Oh," I said; I'd forgotten about that. "He's right through there." I followed Quil silently as he hurried to find Jacob, wanting to see him a bit myself.

He was just as he was when I'd returned from Evadne's, lying still in an awkward position, his breathing uneven but there. I heard Quil gasp, though he looked pretty much normal to me. Just…you know…unconscious.

"I can't believe it," he breathed. "That skank!"

"Pardon?"

Quil spun to face me, his expression serious and very ticked off. "Don't you get it?" he cried. "Jake's dying because of Evadne!"

I didn't process that. "What?"

"Evadne is killing him!" he shouted impatiently.

"N-no," I stammered. "You're wrong." Quil rolled his eyes. "Evadne's never met Jacob; it was Ashlynn."

Quil snorted. "You don't honestly believe that, do you?"

I straightened up, looked him in the eye, and said, "I do."

"Well, so did Jake," Quil shot a look at him, then turned his dark eyes back on me. "Look how that turned out."

"What is going on here?" I demanded. "What are you talking about?" Quil's eyes softened and he gave a sigh.

"You're not the only one who's been ignored, Jasper," he said gravely. "You're not the only one who's been through it all standing at the sidelines, the last one that anybody thought would do anything."

I just stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

"You're also not the only one who's become friends with a girl with see-through gray eyes. How much do you know about her?"

I was hesitant to tell him – who knew what he would do? – but I was getting impatient and I wanted answers, and so I opened my mouth and started to tell Quil everything I knew about Evadne Rosabell Sawyer.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

When I was finished with my tale, I just stared at Quil, whose expression was a mixture of anger and sadness.

"Well?" I said impatiently.

"There are certain things in this world that nobody should have to go through, Jasper," Quil said quietly, his eyes filled with sorrow. "For instance, becoming a vampire or a werewolf, perhaps. Then there are the mutants, the ones that, like us, manage to stay hidden. You wouldn't tell somebody flat out that you're a vampire, would you?"

"That depends," I said slowly.

"No," Quil cut in. "You wouldn't. Don't ask me how I know this, Jasper, but I do. Edward never told Bella that he was a vampire. She just _knew_. She knew, and Edward just completely assumed that she guessed it right. Jake never told her that he was a werewolf – Sam wouldn't let him – instead she had to guess at that, too. Again she guessed right."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with me?"

Quil just looked at me straightly. "It means that knowledge comes at a price," he said flatly, and then he turned away from me.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I don't understand, Alice," I mumbled, stroking her hair as we cuddled together on the leather couch. "Every time I think I might be happy, something happens, and then I'm just too confused to be happy. Am I cursed?"

"I don't know," Alice admitted. "Maybe being a vampire causes notorious bad luck."

"I wouldn't be surprised," I muttered.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….....................................................................................................................................................

Twenty-four hours past. Twenty-four hours of Quil, Jacob, and a whole lot of waiting. Twenty-four hours of pure agony, until I finally couldn't take it anymore. I had to get the real story, the straight story._ The_ story. And I wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

*…*...*...*...*...*...*...*…*...*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*…*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...

This time I decided to take the front door. I thought it would be best if I didn't sneak in Edward-style and startle her again. It wouldn't make a difference if I did, but I wanted to act civilized, at least.

The house was completely and utterly quiet. There wasn't a single sound as I crept up the creaky staircase; I didn't dare to breathe. Evadne's door was ajar, and warm, golden light leaked through it. But I didn't know if it was inviting or not.

Like an eight-year-old Evadne, I crept to the door and pushed it open as quietly as I could. Surprisingly, it didn't make a sound. What I found behind the door, however, would have made my heart stop if I wasn't dead.

It was Evadne. Or at least, I think it was Evadne. Her back was to me, but I could already tell that she was completely different from the Evadne I'd befriended in the past few months.

Her flat, jet-black hair was wavy and filled with volume, like when she was eight. She was clad in a little black dress that had a skirt that puffed ever so slightly. She was barefoot, and her toe-nails were painted blood red.

She turned to face me, and she wasn't the least bit surprised. Her face was made-up with heavy eyeliner and eye shadow; her cheeks were flushed, and she wore blood-red lipstick.

She was prepared.

"Jasper," she said knowingly. "Come in; come in. Close the door and take off your shoes."

To my complete and utter shock, I did. I screamed mentally at myself to stop as I did exactly as she asked, and I stared at her with a mixture of hatred and dismay when my shoes were off. "What did you just do to me?" I said coldly.

Evadne leaned back her head and laughed; I could see a wicked red glint in her eye. The sound of her laugh hurt my ears, and I winced, but I didn't take my eyes off her.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" she snarled. "I'm a Persuader." I gasped as it finally clicked. She'd been planning this all along!

The drawings of vampires, how we'd just so happened to be alone in the hallway that day, all those innocent smiles, those looks of fear; they were all acts.

Sam; Jacob. They were warning me. They knew all along that Evadne was dangerous; Evadne must have forced them to keep it a secret. I remembered what Jacob had said to me: _"Look, you have to watch yourself. __You think you've got it all figured out, and then…" _His voice echoed as he whispered in my mind, _"Evadne…why?"_

Evadne must have noticed, because a sickening smile spread across her face. "I knew you'd figure it out one of these days," she said snidely. "I always thought you were smarter than the rest; I could have sworn you'd have figured it out before now. But what do I know? I'm not even human."

A growl escaped from my lips. Evadne pouted.

"Aww," she said with fake sadness. "Are you going to kill me?"

"I'd certainly like to," I muttered.

"Oh, but you don't understand, Jasper," Evadne said, taking a few steps toward me. "You're different than the others."

"Oh, yeah?" I snapped. "How?"

"Why, you're a Persuader, too," Evadne pointed out. "You change people's emotions. I change…everything."

"Yeah, but I don't go around…"

"Not yet you don't," Evadne interrupted. "But just imagine the team we'd make! You and me…after Cáel refused me; I began looking for another partner, somebody that can start the fire like he can." Her eyes sparkled red with the humor of it.

I noticed something then. "I look just like him," I whispered. Evadne nodded.

"Exactly," she said. "Right down to the golden glint. You can understand my surprise when I found my second Cáel walking around in perfect range, with a decent power, too."

"You sicken me," I snapped.

"It's such a shame that Cáel rejected my request," Evadne continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I hated to kill him; he had such promise. But he just wouldn't listen. Oh, and poor, poor Ashlynn. I valued her so much, but she was just so…Barbie." She shrugged. "As for Shae, well, I didn't ever really like her. I don't really regret killing her at all."

"Valentine," I spat. "What about Valentine?"

"Oh, I just let him go," Evadne said nonchalantly. "He'll come back a couple decades later and wonder to himself how the hell the orphanage burned down, but he'll never know. Such a shame, really."

"So how do you do it," I snapped, "Do you realize that you've stumbled upon one of the most powerful vampire covens in –?"

"The world?" Evadne cut in. "Yes, I do. But no powers ever work on me. That's why Eddy-boy can't read my mind, and your pixie-wife can't see my future, and you can't manipulate my emotions. But I suppose you've never thought to try it."

"Why me, huh?" I spat. "Why me? And don't just say it's because I look like Cáel, or I'm a Persuader or whatever. Give me a real reason."

Evadne shrugged. "Because you're the weakest link," she said simply.

"What?!" Was I really weaker than Rosalie? Or _Esme_?

"Look, all your family members have their own little story going on," Evadne explained. "Eddy-boy and Pixie-girl got Bella, and Carlisle is worrying about turning Bella into a leech. And there's no way I'm going to befriend a seventeen-year-old version of Ashlynn and Valentine."

"What about Esme?"

Evadne scoffed. "She's – what – twenty-five? I wouldn't see her often enough. Sorry, Jazzy, but the fact of the matter is that you were my best shot at getting in, and I succeeded at it, too. Here you are, after all."

"What about Jacob," I snarled. "In the woods."

Evadne shrugged. "He was getting on my nerves," she said. "He had to go."

"So you _killed_ him?"

"Not yet, I haven't."

I couldn't believe this; this was insane! How could this be happening?

"Listen, Jasper," Evadne's voice turned sweet and smooth as she began to walk towards me. "I have never once met a vampire, a werewolf, a witch, or any kind of mutant with more promise than you. I want you." She began to toy with the button on my shirt.

"N-no," My voice trembled with anger.

Evadne stroked my hair with love as she leaned in closer to my face. "Maybe this will change your mind," she whispered.

_**BOOM!!!!!!**_

The wall crumbled inward as Alice appeared. She looked exactly as Evadne had drawn her; vicious and dangerous. "Step away from my husband," she growled.

..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Alice and I held each other in a tight embrace as the house behind us erupted into flames. It seemed like an eternity as Evadne's house blew up with her inside it. We held each other tightly as we endured it, until finally; finally it was over.

We panted even though we didn't need to breathe, and I held Alice at arms length.

"How did you know?" I whispered. Alice gave a wry smile.

"I got suspicious when I couldn't tell Evadne's future," she said. "Rose and I followed her around for a little bit and we found it out in no time." I chuckled as I remembered Rosalie's over-caring smile. "It turns out she can also make people like her very easily," she added. "That's why nobody disagreed with you. And she killed her adoptive parents years ago. That's why she lives alone."

"Wait – the aeonium," I said. "Was that, like, symbolic?"

"Actually, yes," said Alice, surprisingly calmly. "She was born in a field of black aeoniums, and they grew outside the orphanage. Their centers matched the gleam in her eyes; there you go! Symbolic."

We lay there in silence as I thought it all over. "Alice," I said after a while. "I still want to learn to draw."

Alice broke into a grin, which I echoed. "Well, Jasper," she said. "We have all eternity to learn."


	16. BONUS CHAPTER

Hey, everyone. Uxiegirl here.

So…how did you like it? –Pokes ribs-

The amazing thing about Persuasion is that I knew the ending since I wrote the first word of this story, though I imagined Evadne as I lot of different things. A witch, a zombie, a sprite (or fairy), a vampire hunter, a child of the moon…the whole load of it. I can't say why I finally settled on a mutant, but I did.

The surprising thing about Persuasion is that I imagined three predictions you'd probably have for the ending.

Jasper kills Evadne

Jasper cheats on Alice with Evadne

Jasper leaves Forks and Evadne behind

And, ta-da! It was none of them! This is pretty much the first mystery I really had that…you know…you wouldn't guess the ending to in a heartbeat. That was extremely cool.

So, basically you either love me or hate me right now. It doesn't really matter which. I admit, the ending to the last chapter was a bit rushed, but I don't care. Just pretend it wasn't and that it all made sense, okay? Okay.

_**DISCLAIMER: In the past 15 chapters of Persuasion, I did not own any of the Cullens, Forks, Bella, Jacob, Sam, Quil, Mike, Jessica, or any of the other characters and setting except for Evadne, Ashlynn, **__**Cáel, Valentine, and Shae. I also owned the orphanage. Aeoniums are real flowers and they are really cool so look them up. I also did not own the Death Cab song featured in Chapter 6, which is called Brothers on a Hotel Bed.**_

Just so I don't get sued, you know. And, yes, I always put my disclaimer in the Bonus Chapter, so if anybody is looking to sue me, please don't do it until my story is finished, alright? Good.

Okay, thanks for reading everybody! I love you all and I hope I haven't disappointed you right now! ;p


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